Policies Governing the Major Requirement | University of Pennsylvania

All College students are required to complete a major in the School of Arts and Sciences. This requirement ensures that all graduates of the College develop a thorough understanding in at least one field of knowledge through concentrated study over several years in at least 12 courses.

Students are subject to the specific policies and requirements of a given major in effect at the time they declare that major, and they remain so even if the major requirements are subsequently changed. With the approval of the department or program, however, one may be permitted to abide by the new requirement structure.

Qualifications for Admission to the Major

Students must have a g.p.a. of 2.0 in major and major-related courses already taken. Some majors require a higher g.p.a.
Some departments and programs (including Architecture, Communication and Economics) require specific coursework or other prerequisites before application to the major.

Declaring a Major

Application to a major must be made by the second semester of the sophomore year prior to Advance Registration for the first semester of the junior year. Students who have not declared a major by March of their sophomore year will be barred from registering for the next semester until they have declared. Read more >>

Policies Governing Double-Counting Courses

Foundational Approaches

Courses may be double counted toward a Foundational Approach and the Sector Requirement and between a Foundational Approach and the major but not among two or more Foundational Approaches.

This means that the Writing, Quantitative Data Analysis, Formal Reasoning and Analysis, Cross-Cultural Analysis, Cultural Diversity in the U.S. and Foreign Language Requirements must all be fulfilled using distinct courses.

Sector and Major Requirements

Most students may double count no more than one course between the major and the Sector Requirement. Students with a double major may double count one course for each major.

Students in majors that allow courses from both the Living World and Physical World sectors to fulfill their major requirements are permitted to double-count *two* courses toward the Major and the Sector Requirement - one each in the Living World and Physical World sectors. Majors in which this double-counting is permitted include (but may not be limited to) Biological Basis of Behavior, Biology, Biophysics, and the Paleobiology concentration in Earth Science.

Students who are double majoring must have a minimum of 18 unique credit units between the two majors. Students who are triple majoring must have a minimum of 24 unique credit units among the three majors. Major departments may have additional rules limiting such double counting.

The same course cannot be used to fulfill more than one Sector (i.e. the seven Sectors must be fulfilled using seven different courses).

Submatriculation

In any submatriculation program, a maximum of 4 credit units at the graduate level may be included in both the B.A. and the M.A. degrees. Thus, the minimum number of credit units for a submatriculation program is 36. These four courses may be part of the major requirements or the electives of the undergraduate program, but may not include courses in independent study. Some graduate programs may permit fewer than four courses to be double-counted.

For students in the BA/JD submatriculation program, no more than 8 courses in all can be double-counted toward both degrees.

Grade Type for Courses in the Major

All courses taken for a major must be taken for a letter grade, not pass/fail. Some departments have a minimum grade requirement for all courses within the major.

Grade Point Average to Graduate

Students must maintain a 2.0 overall grade point average, and a 2.0 (or better, depending on the department) in major courses.

Transfer Credit to the Major

Only the department or program advisors determine which credits transferred from another institution can count toward the major.
At least half the courses in the major must be taken at Penn. Some departments require more.

Policies Governing Honors in the Major

Students with a minimum g.p.a. of 3.0 may apply to their department or program to become candidates for honors in the major. Some majors will require a higher g.p.a.
Applications for honors in the major are usually taken in the first semester of the junior year.
The requirements for honors in the major vary from program to program and may include special courses and individual research on specialized subjects under the guidance of a faculty advisor. In some departments additional credit is authorized for work done by honors candidates.
Students who complete honors in the major will have this designation entered on their transcript.

Prerequisites for the Engineering Major

College students must complete at least two semesters of coursework at Penn before they may declare an engineering major. In addition, College students must declare an engineering major no later than the fifth semester at Penn.
Each of the engineering majors available to College students has specific prerequisites that must be completed before the major can be declared.
College students must be in good academic standing to be eligible to declare an engineering major. In addition, College students must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative g.p.a. in prerequisite and related/required courses for the intended engineering major.
Course requirements and contacts for SEAS majors available to College students are found here.

Policies Governing the Engineering Major for College Students

College students pursuing an engineering major DO NOT earn a dual degree. They earn a single degree from their home school.
Because College students who pursue an engineering major do not earn the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree, they do not receive professional certification and are not thereby qualified to sit for any certification exam in Engineering.
The engineering major does not fulfill the College’s Major Requirement for graduation and must be declared as a second (or third) major. College students pursuing a major in engineering must have a major in the School of Arts and Sciences.
For College students pursuing an engineering major, the graduation requirement of at least 16 courses in the School of Arts and Sciences outside of the College major still applies.
Policies governing academic actions (mandatory leaves of absence and drops), academic standing (probation), and petitions are those of the student’s home school.

For a list of available second majors, see the SEAS website.

Policies Governing the Individualized Major

Students may apply for an individualized major if they have:

Earned a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5.
Declared a standard major by the end of their sophomore year. (They must continue on to complete at least a minor in that area.)

As part of the application students must:

Meet with Dr. Hocine Fetni in the College Office no later than their fourth semester to discuss details of the major and the application process.
Establish the fact that the goals of the planned major cannot be met within the boundaries of a current offered College major or its combination with another major or minor(s).
Plan a tentative coherent course of study for the major, with at least 14 credit units, to culminate in a major research project which, upon completion, will be presented to the University community in a public lecture. (This should be done in consultation with two faculty advisors. See below.)
Find at least one standing faculty member in the School of Arts and Sciences who recognizes merit in the proposed individualized study and accepts the responsibility of acting as the student's main advisor for the individualized major and for sponsoring and overseeing the thesis.
Find another faculty member whose specialty is in some way related to the major, but is different from the first advisor's and who is willing to serve as a second advisor.